What Happens Beyond The Screen
by kiss-me-kitsune
Summary: We saw their secret glances, their vague interactions. What was really going on with their personal lives during the series' progression? Follows the anime very closely and delves more into the side characters' thoughts, since the anime is Yusuke-centric
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back! I've been gone for far too long and simply could not resist any longer. Well as I've said in the summary, this fic basically follows the anime as close as possible. The scenarios are mostly the same. However, instead of being more Yusuke-centric, this fic delves into the other characters' thoughts and feelings, which is actually twisted in a way to support my KxB infatuation. I hope to give you guys a glimpse of the unspoken relationship that I strongly feel, (and hope!) exists between Botan and Kurama. Oh also, keep your eyes out for a KxBxK love triangle! Ah...  
**

**This is set during the Yusuke kidnapping arc. Again, be warned that though this follows the anime closely, several dialogues and scenarios were changed! That is all.**

---_Chapter 1_---

The minute she elaborated on the devices before her, she had a sinking feeling that she was going to end up making a fool out of herself. She looked at the gadgets before her and hesitantly grabbed the demon compass from her briefcase, holding it up to her companions' faces. "U-uhm let's see... how about the demon compass! With this we can find any demons within a few miles."

"But we wouldn't know if we were actually picking up Hiei or someone else, right?"

Botan froze. _See? A fool of herself! She knew it! __**"**_B-but look, see, with this new improvement we can put a part of Hiei in this chamber and the compass will identify him for us, so we'll be fine! All we need now is a piece of Hiei's hair!"

"Hm, it's really quite a shame I don't carry around with me a lock of Hiei's hair." He remarked, his soft voice sounding deceptively sincere.

"E-eh... right." She let her hand drop limply beside her and let the demon compass slip from her grasp. "_Useless. Utterly useless. Yusuke is in danger of being killed, and here I am being useless!_" Botan re-gripped the compass, a slight sweat forming on her forehead. She had to come up with something! Anything! "Well what about this psychic spy glass? It can see through anything! We can search every nook, every cranny, and every walls within this city. With this, I'm sure we'll find Hiei!"

"Within one hour?" Kurama's voice again was gentle, but Botan thought she could hear just the slightest hint of impatience underneath his gallantry. She screwed up her face and grabbed the next gadget in line, not even bothering to think anymore, since it obviously did her no good.

"Okay, forget about seeing through walls, with this concentration ring, we'll just blow them all up!"

It took all three of them a full second to process the ridiculous situation they found themselves in. Kuwabara, with less tact and grace than Kurama, screeched at the top of his lungs and impatiently rummaged through all the gadgets, throwing them around like useless toys--useless though they may be but toys they certainly were not. "We've got to have something here that we can use! We only have an hour left before Urameshi's toast!"

Kurama stared at them silently, an idea forming in his brilliant mind. He looked at Botan and offered that perhaps they were going about it wrongly. "Is there anything we can use to summon him to us, instead of us looking for him?"

"What! That's ridiculous, if there were, Botan would have told us all about that a while ago!"

"Oh, we do!" she squealed, slamming her fist unto her open palm, at the same time mentally kicking herself in the head for overlooking such a simple solution. She ignored Kuwabara beside her, who dramatically fell on his face. "_Kurama must think I'm an idiot,_ _but I__ don't care. The most important thing is that we rescue Yusuke!_" She stood up and held a whistle in her hand. "The mystic whistle! This whistle cannot be heard by humans, or by those who don't have any spiritual energy. The area that this thing can cover and the strength of its sound depends on its whistler. I can make it go at least a hundred kilometers! If Hiei's around, he'll be sure to hear it." She turned to Kurama to gauge his reaction. Was this good enough? Has she finally shown them something they could use?

She let out a sigh of relief when Kurama nodded his head imperceptibly. She took her stance and warned them to cover their ears. "This could sound really annoying. Alright, here goes!"

A terrible sound erupted almost immediately after Botan placed her mouth to the innocent looking whistle. Even Kurama lost his composure and found himself at mercy of the whistle's shriek. His eyes twitched as his head threatened to explode, his two hands barely protecting his eardrums from collapsing at the immense sound. He wondered how it was possible for Botan's petite body to make that whistle emit such a strong wave that threatened to pull him down on his knees. "What a loud sound!" was all he could manage to say.

"Really? But I don't hear anything... Damn, I guess my spirit energy still hasn't healed!"

After a few more seconds of torture, Botan finally stopped. "Well," she chirped, "all we can do now is wait for Hiei to come find us."

Kurama placed his hands down and stared at the ferry girl, hardly knowing what for. A full realization just hit him at that moment that this bubbly headed ferry girl had something special about her, almost sort of a... ferocity he couldn't quite explain. He somehow felt it from the kind of sound wave she emitted. Following this train of thought, he realized that there was something about Botan he had not taken as seriously before. Of course he knew she was a spirit guide, that she was no ordinary girl, but that didn't stop him from putting her in the rank of Keiko, or Yukina. Strong willed, sure, but physically weak. Ladies that needed protecting. He even remembered feeling very apprehensive at the dark tournament when she had joined the rest of the team beside the ring, saying that she was going to be their trainer. He didn't want her to be there and always made sure to keep an eye on her, helping her whenever she needed something, standing in front of her to protect her whenever it became too dangerous. He narrowed his eyes and looked her over.

He had been wrong. Botan was different. In addition to being strong willed, she also had some physical and spiritual strength to boast of. Though somewhat ditzy and clueless, she most definitely was no damsel in distress; she was not just a pretty face. All this he thought without betraying emotion, remaining just as impassable and serene as he always had been. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Kurama saw a black mass fall from a tree not too far from behind Botan and did not miss Kuwabara's question about whether it was a beetle that fell.

"What in the world is that sound which makes my ears bleed?" the little fire demon asked with a scowl on his face.

Botan clasped her hands enthusiastically. "Ah, Hiei, there you are! I knew you would come!"

The boy looked up and scowled even further. "I did not come looking for you."

Kurama saw that Botan was about to retort something back and decided to cut in though he knew it was very impolite to do so. Saving Yusuke took priority over gallantry. "Hiei, here," he said simply, handing him the note.

The scowl on Hiei's face quickly disappeared and was replaced by a smirk as he read it over. Slapping the piece of paper in his hand, he drawled maliciously, "Serves him right. That bastard must have gotten cocky after winning the dark tournament." He handed the letter back to Kurama. "He'll regret being cocky. He should have known that there's always a bigger fish to fry."

This refusal hardly came as a surprise to Kurama who knew the fire demon well enough to predict his reactions, though in fairness, not well enough to really understand the inner workings of his mind. Even though he wanted to believe that Hiei was simply assuming a nonchalant attitude, he could not be sure. He was no psychic after all. But whatever it was that Hiei truly felt towards their spirit detective friend is of no consequence at the moment; Kurama knew that this was a dangerous and sensitive situation for him to be doing alone (Kuwabara's spirit energy still hasn't come back, and surely he wasn't about to ask Botan to fight alongside him). There was no other option. Hiei absolutely must come. He therefore raked his mind for the right words to say that'll bait the little demon. "But surely you must be interested, Hiei. There is actually someone who could take even Yusuke by surprise. Don't you want to know more about these kidnappers?"

The boy shrugged. "No. This is none of my concern."

The fox demon mentally sighed. He had hoped Hiei would be a little bit more cooperative tonight, especially after that comment. He quickly tried to think of another strategy to bait the usually hot tempered and haughty boy, but was quickly cut off when Botan spoke imploringly, trying to reason to Hiei's compassionate side--if he actually had one.

"But Hiei, if you don't come, Yusuke will get killed!" Kurama knew that this type of talking will not work with the uncooperative demon--Kuwabara had merely suspected it, and Botan was only wishing against luck. Nobody even flinched when Hiei said something along the lines of not caring about the detective.

"He pisses me off; what reason do I have to go out and save his ass? I believed him to be strong, but I see my mistake. It turns out he's just a fool. To be taken by these amateurs. Hn. It's ridiculous and I refuse to babysit him any longer."

"I've been hearing some interesting things lately," Kurama began again, refusing to give up, "about some humans all of a sudden possessing strange and unheard of powers. It is possible our dilemma might be related to it. These kidnappers of Yusuke have proven themselves to be strong and very well organized, making it likely that these are the very same humans I've been hearing of. Yusuke is not exactly the kind of guy who would let himself get kidnapped."

"Humans?" Hiei asked. "I'm almost tempted to be curious, but I'm not."

"Ne, Hiei." Kurama turned his head to the side and watched silently as Botan balled her fists, wondering whether she was going to give the Hiei a lecture on honor and camaraderie. He expected her to point accusingly at him, to do a guilt trip about how Yusuke would have jumped first and eagerly for his sake if he were ever in trouble, and that Hiei was a heartless fool who cared about no one but himself. Again he was surprised when she exhibited a quick thinking maneuver and instead abandoned her righteous ideals (which was a trait in which she was perfectly in the right to exhibit, seeing that she was an agent of the heavens) and opted to match Hiei's morality, or lack thereof. "I believe you're not completely off of Spirit World's wanted list, am I right?"

"So what?"

"If you help Yusuke out, I will make sure to plead your case myself and have you freed from Spirit World's grasp. If you help Yusuke out, you will get your freedom. You'd be free to reign wherever you like. How about it?"

Next to them, Kuwabara gulped and protested loudly. "What! Are you sure! You're letting this freak go? You don't know what he'd do!"

"Well we've got no choice, do we!" Botan cried resolutely. "We're running out of time. Make your choice, Hiei."

Hiei gave it a small thought, and then smirked. "Formally aquitted huh? For beating up humans... Fine. It sounds like a good deal." He turned around and walked off on his own.

Both Botan and Kuwabara let out a triumphant cry, looked at each other, and then ran after Hiei, Kurama following a few distance behind. He walked behind his three companions, not prying his piercing emerald eyes from Botan's retreating figure. He was greatly intrigued. At each passing moment she was proving to be more and more of a surprise. How could he not have paid much attention to her before? Once his interest was piqued, there was no quenching it unless it was resolved. But his personal agenda would have to wait--there were challenges ahead. Yusuke was in trouble and he understood that he must undertake the task of leading the team himself if they were to save their natural leader. He only hoped the others would trust him and his decisions explicitly as much they trust in Yusuke's words. Kurama smiled to himself.

"_No, I could never inspire in them that same unwavering trust they have for Yusuke. Hiei undoubtedly would be the first to go against me, Kuwabara will be wary, and Botan is possibly acting under strict orders from Koenma and will act as she sees fit to fulfill his demands. All I can do is offer them advice and hope for the best. One can only try to lead a team as stubborn as this. Yusuke, you truly are great..._" His face remained impassive throughout the whole way to the rendezvous, but his mind was greatly at work. Since he could not be certain of his team's trust, he would have to carefully plan everything ahead. Holding a leadership position has never been tasteful to him. This was already proving to be a very difficult challenge.

Kurama looked off to the distance. Exactly who were these people and what could they possibly want from the team? Their demands seemed out of the blue and slightly absurd. There was no ransom--they asked for nothing, only that they bring the whole team. Could it possibly be a well thought out, elaborate assassination plot? He could not gain any more than this insight and settled with the fact that for now, all he knew was that they must all be cautious.

-------

**A/N: End of Chapter 1. Ah, I hope I did alright! I really tried to follow it closely. I think, by doing this, I do myself the most favor, since I end up tricking myself into thinking that this is actually cannon! Ha, ha! Now I'll go living the rest of my life believing that these were the events as it happened, and that these are their thoughts as they went through that ordeal.**

**The Yusuke kidnapping was my most favorite arc of all, since it was KxB interaction haven. On a side note, whenever I watch any episode, I try to look for any KxB moments, whether they be just talking, or casting each other glances. I realized that there's actually quite a lot; you'd be surprised! The animators probably felt a kick out of letting Kurama's eyes sit on Botan whenever they could. I can't blame them.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 2! Enjoy! Be aware that words between the -o- sign is for Koenma. Be wary, I say, for the possible weird cuts to the Rekai prince!**

---_Chapter 2_---

Once they arrived at the neighborhood of the rendezvous point, they knew immediately where they were expected. The four compatriots slowed down to a halt as they reached the front porch of the creepy, distorted mansion. On the door, they beheld a piece of paper with a neatly and poetically written note. Kuwabara read it aloud but did not comprehend a word, so Kurama took the liberty to explain that it was most probably a warning of some sort and smartly proposed that they could lose nothing in following its advice.

The redhead opened the door and led the team in, while Botan, in the back, gave herself some time to admire how responsible it was of Kurama to take over the team. He could easily have just remained impassive on the whole ordeal and let Kuwabara take the lead; she knew the fox demon hated being the center of things. He always preferred the dark, the sidelines. He was content in just giving advice. Taking over the team meant doing something he greatly hated, but he rose to the occassion, knowing that if the team was to stay together, his leadership would be their only hope. Botan silently approved of this slight selfless act on his part.

In truth, she half dreaded and questioned Kuwabara's ability at leading such a headstrong team. Hiei and Kurama weren't exactly submissive like the guys in his highschool troupe, though she was sure Kurama would not have minded. But for now, at least, Kuwabara and Hiei were trailing along and letting Kurama take the lead. Yet she couldn't help but glance uncomfortably at Hiei. There was certainly going to be trouble coming from the little fire demon. Even though she understood the mutual respect that existed between him and Kurama, his arrogant side always got the better of him. He would easily turn a deaf ear to Kurama's reasoning when his pride is at stake. "_Oh Yusuke,_" she thought, "_I never really realized just how great you were at leading a team. With you gone, it just feels a little off... Though of course, you never really _did_ anything..._"

"H-hey, it's stuffy in here!" Kuwabara cried, which snapped Botan out of her reverie.

"You're right, it's very ho--" she stopped short when Kurama's strong but gentle hands cupped her mouth. She briefly thought to herself how much it smelled very strongly of perfumed roses.

He looked at her intently, then around warily. "Remember the note on the door. We must all be careful not to say that word. We do not know its consequences."

"R-right," Botan mumbled in his hands, which made Kurama stiffen up and immediately withdrew his hand. Her lips brushing against his palm as she spoke gave him such an electrifying feeling that it completely overtook him by surprise. Regretting having acted so foolishly and afraid that he may have showed too much of his unguarded emotion, he opened his mouth to make some sort of excuse to cover it up, only to stop when he saw Botan grin toward him sheepishly. He smiled and simply brushed it off.

He looked towards the center of the room and found himself face to face with his high school classmate. "_This night sure is full of surprises I could never have anticipated_," he thought, then aloud, remarked, "Kaitou Yuu."

"Hello, Minamino, or should I say, _Kurama_? Oh, are you surprised that I know all about your demon alter ego?" The boy named Kaitou let a malicious grin spread along his lips. "Please, don't be. But I must admit, I couldn't believe it when I first heard of it. It's amazing how the word demon has been misused and wrongfully attributed to those blood thirsty, ugly monsters." He laughed without emotion. "Just think, for you, who are so perfect, so kind, so brilliant, so beautiful, to actually be a demon... I'm sorry, but it's just so ironic." Kaitou's eyes narrowed as he said these words filled with so much loathe.

"What! Who is this joker?" cried the impatient Kuwabara, noticing that the man before him was wearing the same school uniform as Kurama. "Your friend?"

"Or rather, rival," said Kaitou bitterly. "The great Minamino Shuichi. The rival I cannot ever beat."

Kurama smirked and said mockingly, "A rival you say? I had no idea."

"Hah!" exclaimed Kuwabara, unable to restrain his temper at the enemy's arrogance. "Poor bloke! An unrequited rivalry! I don't know what's worse, that or an unrequited love! Either way, the one you consider your rival and the one you consider your love don't even know you exist!" In fact, Kuwabara's outburst had a lot to do with his relief at the fact that the enemy seemed so ordinary. "_These blokes are just full of crap. A little taunt ought to put him out of his element."_ However, this provocation proved to be too much an invitation for Hiei to resist.

"Why won't you help him explain to us exactly how it feels, you oaf? You should know, seeing that you both share the same dilemma."

Kuwabara wheeled his head around and held up a fist. "What! What are you talking about! Urameshi and I are rivals, and he knows it, and _you _know it! And Yukina loves me back! B-bah! But who's side are _you _on anyway you little punk!"

Kaitou laughed. "Really, Minamino, _these_ are the kind of people you hang out with? I pity you."

Hiei grabbed the hilt of his sword, feeling a strong desire to have a go at the human dirt bag. "I'll forget the ugly oaf for a moment. You are a joker who acts too arrogantly for a weakling and I cannot tolerate that. I'll make sure to wipe that stupid grin off your face." He smirked and quickly launched an attack, going straight for Kaitou's head as if to decapitate him.

But Kaitou never even flinched. Hiei's sword approached within an inch of his antagonist's calm and bored-looking face before it encountered a force field of some sort, and then shattered into pieces, surprising Hiei and the others. Hiei landed a few feet away and stared at his opponent menacingly. "_Damn, yet another broken sword. Just how many is it now that I've lost? Swords do not come out of someone's ass._"

"What in the world was that! It was like a force field that came out of nowhere! It even shattered shrimpy's sword!"

"You see, only words have power here. We are in a safe haven where brute force cannot exist," Kaitou explained in his usual languid tone. "You're in _my _territory and you are here to play by _my _rules." He cast a sidelong glance at the boy before him and smirked. "I presume you are the one called Hiei. You must be very angry to find yourself completely out of your element. Even though you may be very adept at swordfighting and fistfighting--a regular bully in my opinion-- in my territory, the likes of you are reduced to nothing. In my territory, you are nothing but a small, swordless runt!"

Hiei clenched his fists in anger. Kurama, fearing Hiei might throw himself into a trap, yelled at him to control his temper. "Take it easy, Hiei, he's only provoking you! Don't fall for it!"

"Hn, and how do we know the fool is not bluffing? What exactly happens if I do say it? Are you saying a simple word is going to kill me?"

"Say it and you'll know," Kaitou replied mysteriously.

That was enough to incite the ever so proud Hiei to prove that he was not afraid of anything, least of all such a stupid, simple word. "No three letter word can scare me. _Hot_."

Kurama gritted his teeth and mentally rebuked his friend for falling shamefully in a very blatant trap. Immediately a flash of lightning emanated from Hiei's body and he was left frozen on the spot like a statue. His spirit, red in color, flew into Kaitou's outstretched hands. To add salt to an injury, Kaitou pretended to be deeply disappointed, clucking his tongue and lamenting, "I warned him. He was a fool."

The others could only look on in surprise. Just what kind of power was that? They have never encountered such a thing before.

Hiei, since he was caught off guard, froze in an awkward and unbalanced position that he shortly fell over. Botan and Kuwabara quickly flew to his side.

"Oh no, Hiei! Snap him out of it!" cried Botan to Kuwabara. _"Petrified! Is there any magic that I know that can help reverse this? Think Botan, quick!"_

Kurama only looked on, ascertaining the situation. _"He is down; that was his soul that left his body. But is he dead? No, it would seem not. Kaitou wouldn't hold on to his soul if there was no way of bringing him back. That was meant as a direct challenge. We must play along and be wary of uttering that word." _

"Now do you understand, Minamino? You are trapped in my territory, and it doesn't matter whether you like it or not. If you're here to save Urameshi, you better play by my rules. You know, I'll take a lesson from you and try to act gallant--let's see, I'll offer you two choices: either you turn back and run away, or you stay and play my game." Kaitou placed a hand under his chin. "The choice is all yours and I'll give you plenty of time to consider. Oh, and I'll even tell you how the situation goes. Urameshi is on the second floor, but a locked door stands in your way. The only way out of here is to somehow take the key from my buddy over there." At this moment, a young man with a giant hairdo entered the room. He introduced himself as Yanagisawa and seemed to be just as languid as Kaitou. Kurama did not think him particularly dangerous. His face seemed blank; there was no trouble in outsmarting him. But he shall bide his time to ensure his victory.

-o-

A couple thousand kilometers above ground, Koenma slapped his palms on the table. "You better believe it, Ogre. They can't say the word 'hot' or else they get their spirit high jacked. They've already lost Hiei and it's still only the first guy. Oh... what are we going to do!" he ogre beside him only looked on, not knowing what comforting words to say to his boss. Both just kept their eyes glued to their T.V.

-o-

Kaitou resumed, "My friends and I call this power _territory_. I've been practicing it for a whole month now and can spread mine ten miles wide. When you enter someone's territory, you must follow their rules lest you want to face the consequences. My rules are simple. Since I am a true book worm, I never really liked brawling, or playing outside, so naturally, I made it so that violence is not allowed. In addition, only words can have power. Utter the taboo word and your spirit becomes mine."

"So if we beat you in your own territory, will Hiei's spirit come back?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know. I've never been beaten."

Kuwabara spat angrily. "This son of a bitch sure knows how to get on the nerves. What do we do now, Kurama?"

The red head turned to him and said, "We will play his game. We will get both Hiei and Yusuke out of this mess." Then to himself, he said, "_There must be something else he's not telling us. Baiting Hiei to say that word was easy,_" he looked at his fallen comrade and couldn't agree more when Kuwabara cried out, "Damn that Hiei pisses me off, deliberately ignoring Kurama's warning just so he can act all cool."

"_Yes, he certainly was foolish. But now that we know what that word does, it all seems too simplistic. Surely Kaitou doesn't expect us to say it again. There must be a trap here, but what?_"

"Please, sit down, you guys make me so tired just watching you sweat."

Kurama, Botan, and Kuwabara each took a seat, wondering what their next move ought to be.

---

**A/N: A little short, but I figured this was the best place to stop. Read on!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3. Enjoy!**

---_Chapter 3_---

Kuwabara kept fidgeting in his seat. Next to him, Botan sat silently, fanning herself. Not the one who can withstand utter silence, he sighed and grumbled, then turned his chair backwards so that he could rest his head on the back support, and proceeded to stare down his arrogant opponent, who mocked them by disregarding their presence and continued to silently read his book. "I'm sick of just sitting around! We can still talk, right? We just can't say that stupid h-word. Urgh, so Kurama, what's the deal with this bookworm here?"

"His name is Kaitou Yuu. He is a classmate. His intellect is ranked at the genius level and continually boasts of scores that are second only to mine. He is even considered one of the brightest kids to ever attend the school; very intelligent for his age."

Kaitou scowled and said through gritted teeth, trying his best to sound casual. "Well that's rather a roundabout way of bragging, isn't it, Minamino? Why if I'm a prince, you must be the king. I never once beat your scores."

"Cumulatively, yes, my grades are far superior, but in certain subjects such as Language Arts and Literature, you completely surpass me. If I remember correctly, you have already published several essay articles on literary theory."

"Wow, what a nerd! So how do we beat him?"

Kurama sat in meditation, never once taking his eyes off of Kaitou. "_That I'm trying to work out this instant._"

After a few more minutes, Kuwabara stood up. His body was slimy all over with sweat, and his throat clamped down from dryness. He just couldn't stand the heat any longer.

"If you're feeling uncomfortable, I've got a refrigerator over there with some refreshments. Help yourselves."

Kuwabara loomed menacingly over the boy, threatening that if the refreshments were poisoned, he would pummel him and bring him down with him. Kaitou merely laughed and mocked, "Wow, you're actually very smart! I never even thought of doing that!"

"Son of a--tch." He looked over at Kurama to see whether he thought it safe, and grinned happily when the redhead nodded his head. He was on the way to walk towards the refrigerator, when Botan brushed past him and chirped that she would get it.

"I'm getting a little bit bored, myself. I need something to do." In reality, Botan just wanted to be near the fridge and feel the refreshing cool breeze on her face. _"It should be illegal to let a girl sweat so much_," she thought angrily. She opened the fridge and breathed freely as the cold air entered her lungs and touched her humid skin. This quickly revived her. Going back to her cheery self she cried, "Orange juice? That's better than soda. But where's the water? Kuwabara, there's actually quite a lot of choices here."

"Doesn't matter. Well actually, orange juice is fine. Make sure to put ice on it, please, and if you want we can share it with each other."

Kaitou chuckled. "My, my." As he said this, Kuwabara felt his stomach clinch in a knot, and felt his soul rapidly escaping from his body. In mere seconds, he was turned into a stone. Kurama stood up from his seat, dumbfounded.

"But why?" he asked aloud, looking directly at Kaitou, a small drop of sweat trickling down his temple. "_I knew it, there was more to it! But what exactly happened? I better find out the answer quickly, before both Botan and I commit the same mistake. What were the exact words Kuwabara used? I'm certain I did not hear him say the taboo word. Maybe he said it in his mind? Could Kaitou's powers extend that far?"_

"Kaitou, you cheated!" Botan cried, pointing accusingly at the boy. "Kuwabara never even came close to saying the word 'hot'!"

Kurama's eyes widened slightly, letting a small gasp escape his lips. He turned around, just in time to see Botan's surprised face as she covered her mouth, "A-ah! Oh no!" The two exchanged a brief glance of uncertainty before she said to him, almost apologetically, "I goofed!" and promptly turned into a stone herself. Her blue soul escaped from her body and joined along with Hiei's red, and Kuwabara's yellow.

"Good grief!" cried Kaitou, unable to restrain his delight. "They are falling for it one after the other! Your friends certainly aren't very bright, are they, Minamino? Tell me, did you pick such losers to make yourself appear even brighter?"

-o-

Once again in Spirit World, Koenma groaned. He was watching them intently on the T.V and was raking his mind as to how Kuwabara could have failed to follow by the rules. "Well obviously we didn't train this team to solve puzzles and participate in academic decathlons. But pushing Botan's grand stupidity aside--that idiot obviously blundered--what about Kuwabara?" He pressed the rewind button and set it to before Kuwabara's little dialogue.

_Botan turned around. "Orange juice? That's better than soda. But where's the water? Kuwabara, there's actually quite a lot of choices here."_

_"'Doesn't matter. Well actually, orange juice is fine. Make sure to put ice on it, please, and if you want we can share it with each other---Put ice on it, please, and if you want we can share it with each other--with each other-with each...'" _

Koenma was intelligent. It didn't take him long to realize that Kuwabara had said the letters h-o-t successively. He shrieked, terrified at the harshness of the rule. "'Each other'! Kuwabara said each other! H-o-t! How were they supposed to know that! Botan certainly was right! That Kaitou kid is cheating!"

"Wow! Kuwabara _did_ spell out hot, didn't he?" added the ogre, now understanding the situation thanks to Koenma's explanation.

"Ugh, this is making my brain hurt," cried the prince. He resumed watching, still at the edge of his seat.

_"Now do you understand, Kurama? I didn't tell you the rest of the rules on purpose, because I was afraid of hurting your friends' puny brains. Let me now explain fully: in my territory, the letters h, o, and t, cannot be said respectively in that order. They don't even have to be in the same word. It's no simple child's game."_

_The redhead answered, "I understand."_

_Kaitou twirled the orbs carelessly in his hands. "Souls sure are pretty things, aren't they? If you ask me, I like the girl's the most." His voice shook distastefully, hinting at something rather perverted, that Kurama made a slight movement. "Oh, what was that?" Kaitou grinned maliciously. "Don't think it escaped me. I noticed from the beginning how you withdrew your hand from her mouth right when you entered. Did you feel some sort of a thrill when she moved her lips against your palm? Sensual, wasn't it?"_

Koenma gripped the armrest of his couch. What did Kaitou just say? Could there be something going on between his dimwit assistant and the fox demon? He didn't understand why he all of a sudden felt a little bit more annoyed than he should be.

-o-

Back in the human world, the redhead balled his fists, feeling more angry at himself than at the boy. He had been careless and acted like a fool. He therefore decided that everything must be ended quickly, no more dallying. He knew now what he must do. The more time he spent listening to his enemy's mockery, the more chances he had of taking the bait. Kaitou kept on talking about how he had gotten his powers, but Kurama ignored him. His patience was not limitless, after all.

He didn't dare look towards Yanagisawa's direction, but trusted that his peripheral vision would give him enough. He could tell that the boy was standing lazily in front of the door, drawn to the battle of wits going on before him. It was all too perfect. Betraying nothing, Kurama ordered his plants to move across the room towards Yanagisawa's position. The boy, earnestly watching his friend outwit the intruders, didn't even realize the plant that crawled gently across his chest, working its way to take the key that he hid in his pocket. The plant slid back towards its summoner as stealthily as possible.

Kaitou now jumped to another subject to try and put the redhead more out of composure, "You know souls cannot be strengthened, but it can easily be darkened. I wonder if I should like to try darkening mine by destroying these defenseless souls in my hand? I think I'll try scratching them up, just a little." And to complete his mockery, he finished, "Should I start with the girl's?"

Despite being heavily divided between masterminding a strategy and maneuvering his plants with a surgeon's precision, Kurama still managed to spare just enough of his attention to respond, "Just try and do it."

Kaitou looked up to see Kurama's calm, but dark and intimidating demeanor. There was something very sinister hidden behind those piercing green eyes and handsome boyish appearance that it even made him second guess himself a bit. "Try it," Kurama repeated, his hands clasped together, "and I will find ways to kill you rather ruthlessly."

"Nice! Now that was a reaction we've never seen at school before! Wow, Kurama, this girl must be someone truly important to you then?"

"Your voice sounds pleasant and I do enjoy hearing it, but I must admit, that jest is becoming distasteful to me." He lifted his head up and haughtily asked, "Now I wonder, how long you can maintain that composure?"

Kaitou started from his seat and leaned forward in disbelief. Kurama was triumphantly holding up a key! _The _key to the door! How on Earth could he have gotten it? He was sitting there the whole time not doing anything, he was watching him carefully! He stood up and inquired angrily at his friend. "Well? Is it the real one?"

"N-no way! He never came near me, it's right here!" Yanagisawa patted his pockets, turned them inside out, but the key was not there. "No, it's gone! H-how is that possible!" He turned his head upward and saw a vine hanging ominously above him. "What! His plants! They must have stolen the key from me! I never even felt it!"

Kurama smirked. "It didn't particularly hurt, did it? I just borrowed it from you on the sly."

"Damn it!"

"You seem to have miscalculated, Kaitou. It seems I can still use my powers, so long as I follow your rules and not commit any violence. I assure you, that won't be too much of problem for me, I am actually rather civilized." Kaitou gritted his teeth. "You best take care of all three souls. I will find a way take them back from you safely, no matter what."

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**A/N: Are you guys alright with me using the English translation of words? Or would you rather me change them into Japanese? In other words, do you guys prefer to read "Kurama-kun" or just simply Kurama? Just a thought. Not trying to incite a riot, or anything...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The rating was changed due to a**_** mildly**_** suggestive scene. I guess I'd better do that now, since this will definitely eventually end up as Mature. Enjoy!**

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"Tell me Kaitou, is it possible for the taboo word to be changed? Naturally, neither one of us will say the word. I was hoping we could increase the challenge."

"Of course. I can change the rules whenever I please."

"Then allow me to dictate the rules for the next round. I assure you," Kurama said confidently, "that I will beat you within forty-five minutes and free my friends' souls."

Kaitou laughed at his face and cried, "You're very haughty, aren't you? But what will you give me in return if you don't beat me within your own time limit?"

Kurama cocked his head to the side, as if to say that there was no point in asking, since there was no way he was going to lose anyway. Nonetheless, he offered, "Then you may have my soul as well. So will you accept, or will you cower from a game in which you clearly have the advantage?"

"_Arrogant. Simply arrogant. I have more advantage than you think, Minamino. You may be smart, but you can't beat me in my own game. You come in here strolling like everything was your idea, when in fact you're only falling into my trap._" Kaitou pushed his glasses up the nook of his nose and answered, "Sure, let's hear this game of yours."

"The taboo starts with one letter, but as time moves forward we eliminate more. There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet and forty-five minutes to play, thus every one hundred and four seconds we will lose another letter we can say. We shall start at the letter z and move backwards from there. At the end of the game, every letter will be taboo."

"Fascinating imagination!" the boy cried. "Give me a few minutes to rewrite the rules. I'm looking forward to getting that complete set of souls."

Kurama made no retort for his mind was already working on its new set of strategy. The idea began forming right when Kuwabara jumped up from his seat to grab a drink. Kurama realized that humans seemed to be more susceptible to the humidity and heat of the room, as their bodies, not so well adjusted as a demon's or a spirit's, cried out against the slightest inconveniences from its surroundings. Kaitou was also a human and therefore was likely to be just as susceptible as Kuwabara. There was a great possibility he had drunk his own fill some time before Kurama and his team arrived at the mansion. He studied the boy before him.

"_He is sweating profusely,_" he observed. He was right; obviously Kaitou was not immune. Unbeknownst to Kaitou he committed one of greatest mistakes he could ever make: that he insists on being in an environment where even he himself was uncomfortable in. His other great mistakes were of course, trying to challenge Kurama in a battle of wits, and least of all threaten the redhead's friends.

"I've written the rules. It will take its effect very shortly."

The two opponents stared each other down as the minute hand ticked by. Soon, Kurama felt the territory alter. The game had begun.

"We begin with the letter z. Within a minute and forty-four seconds it will become a taboo. Better get all the z's out of you. Zebra, zealous, zen, zero."

But Kurama made no reply.

The time passed by and z was crossed off. "Y is next. Why oh why must we lose the letter y? What if we need to cry?" Kaitou said mockingly.

"Careful Kaitou, you'll tire yourself and make a mistake."

It didn't prove to be particularly hard to lose the last few letters of the alphabet. Soon they arrived at v, neither one of them even had to resort to using synonyms of the words they wanted to express. To antagonize his opponent, Kaitou resumed playing with the orbs. He saw how it made Kurama pale whenever he touched the blue orb particulary.

"Vixen. Voluptuous. Veneral. Virgin." He looked up and said as-a-matter-of-factly, "Virgins indeed have such beautiful souls."

"Loosing 's' 't' and 'u' will be more of a challenge. I suggest you focus."

And it was in this fashion that a majority of the letters got crossed off. Both players realized that as time went on, the air grew heavier and quieter, making the environment that much more unfriendly. Kurama was even starting to feel slightly irritated, so much the worse, he thought, for Kaitou. "_It would be any minute now…"_

As if right on cue, Kaitou stood up. Kurama asked calmly, "Going off?"

"Need a john."

Kurama only watched as Kaitou walked off, heading towards the bathroom right next to where Yanagisawa stood. He heard him tell his friend to keep quiet and not say a word, then disappeared behind the bathroom door. At that very same instant, his plant, which was hanging above Yanagisawa the whole time, gently wrapped itself around the boy, covered his mouth, and gently lifted him off the ground. The plant squeezed him little by little as slow as possible, at the same time secreting some sort of liquid into his mouth. In a few seconds, the liquid, which rendered those who swallow it unconscious, took effect. He hung limply at the mercy of the plant. Kurama would only drop him when he deemed the time right.

The redhead stood up and used just enough of his energy to fill the entire room with plant life. It didn't take too much from him, thanks to the artificial tropical weather, which greatly boosted the plants' ability to thrive. He cast one more glance towards the orbs that floated on the table to make sure they were all still safe, before hoisting himself up on the chandelier. After getting himself comfortable enough, he ordered his plant to drop Yanagisawa.

Immediately, Kaitou's put-out figure emerged from the restroom. At seeing his friend down, he looked around, but did not dare to say a word. Kurama noted how much Kaitou's eyes widened at seeing his room, so normal and empty before, now turned into a jungle. Since the witty fox demon always thought three steps ahead, he counted on the fact that Kaitou would understand at least a part of what he was planning to do. He knew that Kaitou would run to the center of the room (where he strategically placed a clearing) in order to better hear where his enemy might be hiding.

"_Good, he's expecting me to scare him into screaming. He will use all precaution not to scream from being surprised and will not expect…"_ Kurama didn't even bother to finish his sentence for Kaitou had then just directly placed himself right in the center, under his very nose, so to speak. Kurama thought the time was right. He descended slowly, head first, while his legs curled around the hanging pole to secure him and keep him from tumbling down.

Kaitou was now biting his nails; his fear of being surprised helplessly overhyped his situation. Then, his back tickled as his brain tried to tell him there was something looming behind him and he knew right away that Kurama had to be back there, waiting to scare him as he turned around. He balled his fists and prepared himself.

"Ba!"

Despite knowing the surprise was coming, Kaitou couldn't help but flinch, but at least he did not scream out. _"I did it! I did it! I held my screams! I never shouted! Your wonderful plan failed, Minamino. I've actually won this one!" _During that little mental soliloquy, time had moved on and all but the letter 'A' have become taboo. He spun around to gloat, but what he saw shocked the breath out of him.

Kurama managed to put on his face the most hideously ridiculous look and was staring rather intently at him.

A few seconds passed and Kaitou didn't say a word, but neither did Kurama stir. Finally, unable to restrain his laughter, he bawled out, "Ha ha ha, he he he, ha ha!" Then, recognizing his defeat, he screamed a passionate "No!" at the top of his lungs before falling over, a victim to his own power.

The redhead nimbly jumped down from the ceiling and brushed his clothes. Kaitou's territory vanished and all three souls immediately flew to their respective bodies. Botan was the first to revive and Kurama couldn't help but find her confused reaction rather a little… cute.

Next to her, Kuwabara breathed deeply. "We're back! Gee, thanks Kurama. If it weren't for you, we'd be toast! And no thanks to _you_, Hiei! Getting us all in trouble with your 'I'm so tough' attitude!"

Hiei only looked away, half embarrassed, and made no comment.

"Ironic that despite his grave intentions the one to unravel him was a laugh," Kurama explained to them.

He saw that Botan didn't say a word but only looked towards him with an air full of gratitude. He returned her look with a smile.

He was very glad he was able to preserve his team.

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**A/N: This arc is done! Look forward to the next one coming up, the one with Seaman and the hospital scene. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you're just going to have to wait patiently ^_^. Also, I know this is probably asking too much, but humor me. Please press the "Review this story" button below and give me some short comments! Anything will do! I find your input helpful, if not at least very entertaining! They keep me alive. Reading your reviews make writing just that much more worthwhile.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I've finally finished my final and school! I will be transferring to another college soon, so I hope to finish this fic before that. Haha. Starting from here on out, things will start developing between our pairings. It will still follow the show, but remember that this is happening "on the side". Hope you guys enjoy!**

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-Chapter 5-

The past couple of days, Kurama couldn't help but notice that both he and Botan seem to naturally just fall into the rhythm of each other's steps. However he chose to be more practical and instead of taking it to be a sign of their budding relationship, simply attributed it to his own doing; perhaps he had been inadvertently making it so they always stayed within a foot of each other. In any case, he didn't mind it. He would have relished in these moments, if only the world was not in danger of being overrun by demons.

He was definitely starting to harbor feelings for the ferry girl, and wondered whether it would be wise for him to follow up on it. She was, after all, an apparition, a Grim Reaper, while he was a demon, and a notorious thief at that. That already posed some big problems. Moreover, like the countless others who find themselves suddenly in love, Kurama, though normally very perceptive, became blind in regards to his object's attentions. He felt unsure whether Botan held for him the same feelings he was beginning to feel for her. It never dawned upon the wise and calculated redhead that the glances Botan had been throwing at him might have held some deep, hidden meanings. As far as he knew, this infatuation may well be one-sided.

Botan had been gone for almost a week now, spending all of her time back in the Spirit world, tirelessly running errands for the Prince. Even after beating Dr. Kamiya and his virus-laden insects, everything was still in total chaos. Koenma was still busy trying to get all the facts straight about the demon portal that continued to grow larger by the second, threatening the release of monstrous demons and the extinction of whole human race. But there was something more to it. Kurama suspected that Koenma was not telling them all that they needed to know. And really, what could possibly be a good enough reason that Koenma have to withhold information from the very people he is sending out to risk their lives? That itself was enough to irritate the redhead.

Kurama leaned back, staring at his homework paper contemplatively, one arm resting on the back of his chair, and the other hand covering his mouth. But in honesty ("_in selfishness_" he thought to himself), what was even more greatly bothering him at that moment were not these self-proclaimed Judges of Humanity, but Koenma's strange actions on the day he ordered Botan to return to Spirit World. He remembered that like usual, he and Botan stood side by side and, along with the whole team, watched Koenma through the portable T.V screen as he gave them the latest report on the portal. When he finished, the toddler cast a look toward his direction and raised an eyebrow, seeming to suddenly fall in a fouler mood than before. Koenma suddenly screamed at Botan, saying that he needed her help, _her _help particularly, and that she needed to come back as soon as possible, which confused the ferry girl and made her wonder why her boss was angry at her. She bumbled on and quickly summoned her oar so that she didn't get to see the nasty glare that Koenma had thrown the redhead demon before signing off.

It had been most peculiar. What was the reason for Koenma's unjustified anger? And not that it put him ill at ease, but what exactly was the reason for that glare?

"_Could it be_," he thought, "_that Koenma also has feelings for her?_" He picked up his pen and tried to resume his work. "_Does he see me as a threat?_" Despite knowing that this was not the time to pursue his own personal agenda, he couldn't help but dwell more on that fact rather than the tunnel to Demon world. The relationship he had with the Prince had been civil at the most, but now that Koenma was beginning to acknowledge him as a threat, he couldn't help but feel compelled to return the challenge. Prince Koenma had made it clear that Botan was dear to him, but Kurama could not and would not back down—he was still only beginning to understand his emotions. He was still Youko, after all, and he will always retain that same arrogance and pride which made him particularly relentless. Youko Kurama had never turned away without first getting a taste of his goal and was never one to suffer drawbacks to his plans. Ever. So much the worse for Koenma.

He closed his book. There were just too many questions, too many concerns in his mind right now. There was only one way he would arrive at those answers—go to Koenma himself and ask him, face to face.

-0-

"Please, Kurama, not records! Lord Koenma will surely discipline me! Why, last time he disciplined me so much I dislocated my hip joint! And you know, looks are-"

Kurama was stubbornly making his way into the Spirit World's records' room without paying much attention to the laments of the poor, blue ogre. His mind was busy trying to peace everything together himself, trying to make sure he could make as much sense of what information he had as possible, in case Koenma decides to shun his suspicions away. He clenched his fists. He was going to corner the prince into submission and make him answer all his questions, no matter what.

"Will you shut up, George!" Kurama heard Koenma scream in annoyance. He stopped in front of the toddler prince, looking up at him from the top of the ladder; hardly the kind of position Kurama wanted to be in if he were going to intimidate him into talking. "Oh, Kurama, what are _you_ doing here?" He noted how Koenma's voice dripped with a hint of sarcasm, as if he had been expecting him to come, sooner or later.

He answered calmly, "I've come to pose a question."

"Oh, brother."

"I believe you know the mastermind behind this tunnel. Am I right?"

Koenma did not even bother to look at him and continued reading his book. With a tone of undisguised annoyance, he spat out, "Don't be ridiculous! If I knew who he was, don't you think I would have told you so that you could stop him?"

"Perhaps not, if you feared he would defeat us. Your behavior has been an erratic mix of urgency and silence. You're scrambling because you don't know how and if we can win. Admit it." Kurama's eyes narrowed. "That means you know about him—what he can do, and about his past."

Koenma threw the book down at Kurama's feet and cried out, very much like a spoiled prince, "How dare you accuse me with some groundless hunch!" At this point, Kurama knew he had won.

"But it is right."

The prince grumbled, but was unable to utter any more. He sighed sharply and turned around, cursing the cunning fox demon. "Fine. But I will tell you all about it in front of the others. You wait until tomorrow and I will come to Yusuke's apartment and explain everything. Satisfied?"

Kurama nodded. "I expect you to uphold that. And now I am going to pose a personal question, one that I hope you answer at this instant."

The prince turned around. "Why Kurama, it almost sounds like you're forgetting your place."

"Place has nothing to do in this matter if what I suspect is true. Tell me, what is the reason for your peculiar behavior towards me these past few days?"

"_Peculiar behavior_? I have no inkling as to what you mean."

"To be blunt, you have been rather unpleasant towards me lately, and I suspect it has something to do with the ferry girl."

Koenma balled his fists and gritted his teeth. "How dare you accuse me of another groundless hunch!"

Kurama smirked. "Need I remind you that the earlier accusation is _not_ groundless, as you've already admitted?"

"Why you—that is impertinence, what you're asking me!"

"Then you care nothing about Botan?"

The prince looked away.

"So it is untrue that I have been the subject of your wrath and has been so far, left out of things you usually would have approached me for before? It is untrue that you have appointed me a different messenger other than Botan—only me, it seems, for Kuwabara had told me Botan still keeps constant communication with them at all times. It is untrue that these past few days Botan has been deliberately assigned extra assignments she was not accountable to before, kept busy here in the Spirit world? These are all ungrounded, you say?"

"W-what do you expect me to say?"

"The truth, my Prince."

Koenma mustered up everything he had to match the intense glare of the redhead. Why must these problems stack up on each other like so? He did not want to deal with this at the moment, but somehow, seeing Kurama get heated up over his stupid, ditzy assistant made his blood boil. What was she to Kurama anyway! Why would he care so much! He was a demon, and she was an apparition. She was _his _assistant!

Finally, he uttered, "S-stay away from her. I don't like the idea of her associating with you much more than is needed. Kurama, you are a wonderful tactician, a very useful asset to Urameshi's team and to Spirit world as well. But that doesn't change the fact that you're a demon and a thief—a criminal. After you serve your sentence—which will most likely be cleared after this whole ordeal with the closing of the demon portal—you'll be free to go. Go on with your life—live through high school. Captivate and break high school girls' hearts—but not Botan." There. He had said it, though somewhat vaguely and crudely. But Koenma knew nothing was too vague for the fox demon. He knew how to piece together words that even people who uttered them could not.

Kurama simply stared at him, almost arrogantly, then smirked. Koenma couldn't help but feel that Youko Kurama had somehow surfaced. "Well this has been a rather interesting turn of events. It seems you are truly perceptive, a very useful and rightful attribute of a great leader. However—it's rather hard for me to take your word seriously. I speak to you as a man, of course. I have no doubt of your leadership abilities and respect you greatly for such." He looked at him coldly. "But you, likewise, have been rather impertinent to ask me to stay away from Botan. It is not your place to tell me what to do in that matter. I look to you as the Spirit world Prince when I work, but at the moment, you're merely just a boy. A toddler. Don't be so arrogant as to think you can get whatever you want just by asking. You work for it."

"K-Kurama…"

"Don't let this get in the way of our mission. I will do my best to help Yusuke and the others bring down the villains. I will fulfill my duties here to the best of my abilities, along with the best of my intentions. However, this is the time where I offer the advice, 'Take this personally.' I am not going to hand her over and stand in the sidelines."

With that, Kurama took a deep bow and retreated, leaving Koenma (and George) looking agape. After recovering, Koenma turned away, full of uncontrollable anger and infuriation. "_Did he… did he just… actually become a rival?"_

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_**A/N: Please continue reading and reviewing. There was actually a scene where Kurama goes to Spirit world to demand information from Koenma. I just added the last few parts. Maybe that goes without saying…? **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It surprised me to know that I wrote this a while back before I transferred! Well things have gotten quite hectic and I've managed to pull down my gpa majorly *dies*. I'm dead set on bringing it back up there again though! Meanwhile, working on this story will give me a much needed break!**

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-Chapter 6-

"_This entire month has been a total nightmare_._ I feel like nothing would faze me anymore after all this,"_ Botan thought as she, with much difficulty, rolled Kuwabara over to the side to change his bandages. The gigantic, lanky boy was sprawled like an eagle on the floor, sleeping soundly despite the heavy beating he took a few hours earlier from a run in with one of Sensui's men. Having him in such a deplorable state was actually the luckiest outcome of such a dangerous encounter, for Kuwabara, without his spirit energy, was currently a defenseless man. At this point, even Botan felt herself more able than the boy. If such a good stroke of luck weren't on their side, a dead Kuwabara lying pathetically on the side of the road would have been the next best thing they could have had.

Botan recalled how she and Yusuke had been running all over town looking for Kuwabara-after Genkai had screamed at the Spirit Detective for being so idiotic-when they eventually saw him back at the front lobby of the apartment with four men sprawled across his back. Apparently he had stubbornly tried to carry all four unconscious men on his back (three of whom were his friends, and the last one being the previously named 'one of Sensui's men') despite his injuries. She remembered vividly, and with much emotion, how Kuwabara's last words to them before he fell unconscious was to "Take care of them." Hearing the memory of Kuwabara's voice saying these words moistened her eyes. She couldn't have been more proud to have such a caring, gallant, and reliable such as him. She smiled good-naturedly at his sleeping figure before standing up, and walked towards the figure of the unknown boy occupying Yusuke's bed.

She was about to roll him over and work on his bandages as well, when she noticed that the look of fear that creased his brow at the time she saw him lying unconscious at the floor of the lobby, was momentarily wiped off his face. Botan had an instinctive feeling that for the first time, he was feeling a bit safer-even though he might not have consciously meant to. She decided to leave him for the time being.

Botan collected the rolls of bandages in her little basket and exited the room. Right outside the door, she bumped against Yusuke, who was actually on his way to go into his room to check on his friend. "How is he?" he asked.

Botan closed the door behind her and slightly pushed him away, saying, "He's alright. He was sleep-talking about that Megallica concert he went to go out and see. Try not to disturb him."

"Oh, alright." The boy took a step back. He motioned for her to follow him out to the living room and sat down on the sofa, removing some of the pillows piled up next to him to clear a seat for Botan, and massaged the nook of his noise. "Oh yeah, Kurama's on his way right now to wipe the other guys' memories. He should be here any minute."

_Kurama!_ Botan felt her heart skip. She had been so busy with everything that it's been a full week since she's last seen him! She couldn't hold back the smile that crept up on her lips., for this had been the best news she's had all week. If she could, without appearing crazy, she would have hugged Yusuke for being such a bearer of good news. She settled with sitting next to him as close as possible.

Unlike Kurama, Botan was a little more open minded and sure of her own feelings. She wasn't afraid to admit to herself that she felt a strong attraction toward the redhead, and was even willing to go as far as to initiate conversation and contact. She always cherished the times she and he touched shoulders as they walked (-or ran) to missions, and the times they stood next to each other during briefings. Botan was unsure that her feelings were reciprocated, or even noticed, but she was happy just expressing her own feelings nonetheless.

Too bad she hasn't had the time lately to be anywhere near him, she thought bitterly, but a knock on the front door completely erased all her bitterness and she almost jumped up to answer it. She checked herself.

"Oh, that must be him," Yusuke said before promptly getting up and opening the door.

Kurama walked in with a grim and melancholy smile. He looked a little bit tired; he had been thinking and working too hard. Botan knew that for the past week, Kurama had been temporarily appointed a different messenger for a special mission Koenma had assigned to him, which was to gauge the exact position of hole. It was thanks to his report that they found out they have got the wrong information. If they had continued on with the wrong intelligence as before, the world would have been overrun and annihilated by demons in a week before they could even decide on their battle strategy.

She waved at him, which, Botan thought she imagined, brightened up his face a bit. "How are you feeling? You look a little tired."

"I'm fine, thanks for asking, but tired is certainly the best way to put it." He pulled some seeds out of his hair and grew them into a delicate-looking white flower. "I brought the plant that'll erase their memories. We'll need to boil its petals and let them drink it. The effect should be instant, rendering them unconscious for a few hours, and when they wake up, they won't remember any of it."

"I just realized... you'll probably end up erasing their precious Megallica concert memories!"

"The beauty of this plant is that its strength varies depending on the time we boil it. If we could guess the time of the attack, we could erase just the interval between then and now. It wouldn't be too accurate, but it'll do the job."

Yusuke and Botan both nodded and led him to the kitchen where the three boys were shaking from shock. They were all relating whatever they remembered to Genkai, even though they had already done so a couple of times. Although Genkai already knew the story back and forth, she thought that the best way to alleviate their anxiety was to have them vent out on her until Kurama's arrival. Genkai never shifted from her position, but only looked at them with her eyes once they entered. She let them finish the sentence before she put up her hand and said that she was going to boil them some more tea.

"More tea? Grandma, honestly, I'm feeling quite full already. You've given us five cups since we've been here..."

"Tea is good for you. I'll let Kurama make you some this time."

"Thank you, but please, could this be the last one? I don't think I could take much more."

"This _will_ be the last one."

Kurama smiled and went to work.

The boys drank the tea and immediately knocked out. Yusuke and the gang had the difficult job of figuring out how to lug all three of the boys back to their respective houses without causing a scene as they strolled through town. Kurama suggested that they simply take them on their backs and jump around town-Hiei style. Feeling thankful and a little generous, Yusuke, as a token of appreciation for Genkai and her patience in dealing with the boys as well as for Kurama and his talent with medicinal plants, offered to take all of the boys home by himself in three separate trips.

"Meanwhile I'll take a little nap. Wake me when you get back," Genkai grunted and walked off towards the masters' bedroom.

And so Kurama and Botan found themselves alone for a few minutes. This time, she motioned for Kurama to come to the living room and sit down on the sofa, and for a while, quietly contemplated to themselves. She was the first one to speak. "I think Yusuke has some food in the fridge. Are you hungry?"

"Not quite. I don't usually eat breakfast. But perhaps you are?"

"A little bit. But now that I think about it, Yusuke's probably got nothing in his fridge."

"Let's take a look then, and help ourselves."

The two re-entered the kitchen and rummaged through Yusuke's fridge, which didn't take that long for Botan was correct-there was nothing much. Kurama grabbed two eggs and the turkey ham (which he carefully smelled first). He grinned slightly at Botan and motioned for her to sit down while he prepared her something, which of course, elicited protestations from the girl.

"No, no, I'll do it myself! You don't have to trouble yourself about it!" she cried, but Kurama already threw the apron on and started heating the pans. He turned to Botan and asked her simply, "Sunny side up?"

"...Really, you can be stubborn sometimes. Well, since you insist, yes please. And I like it slightly burnt at the bottom for some crisp." She watched silently as Kurama prepared her breakfast and let her mind wander off by daydreaming about the possibility of them ever living together. Then she scoffed to herself and thought, "_How in the world would that even happen, seeing that I live in Spirit world, and he lives here, or Demon world if he so wished._" She silently sighed and shook the thought off easily, as if knowing there can never be any hope in such a dream. All that was heard in the kitchen was the crackling of the egg in the oil. She asked, "Are you burning it?"

Kurama chuckled and looked at her. "Skillfully."

"I never knew you were a good cook."

"You haven't even tasted my cooking. What makes you so sure it's good?"

"Oh, that's true. It's just that I notice you're not jumping away from the oil splatter. I thought that was a sign of a good cook. Oh, but then again, Yusuke doesn't jump away from it either, but he's still a horrible cook. Except for ramen... anyway, that's really smelling good."

"Would you want some coffee with it?"

To his surprise, Botan burst out laughing. Pretty soon, Kurama found himself smiling as well, for the tinkling of her laughter proved irresistible to join. Once she quieted down, he asked her, "What was that for?"

"Oh, it just made me think we really sound like a human couple right now. It's funny, isn't it? Two apparitions playing kitchen. This is kind of fun; I like this. None of us really ever get the time to just hang out as friends, do we? We're always just out on a mission whenever we gather. I wish there were more down-times like these. It's very relaxing... and yet..." a frown suddenly clouded her face. "This is all a lie, isn't it? We can never really just lay back because there's always going to be trouble. It feels relaxing, but at the same time, it's annoying because it feels like fate is just teasing us. We can never truly be free of the responsibilities. We may play here at this moment, but we know sooner or later we're going to have to go out and face _that man_, and possibly risk all our lives."

Kurama turned off the stove and drained the oil from the egg. To his right, he poured a freshly brewed coffee into a cup, made a simple turkey ham sandwich, and made his way towards the ferry girl. He was quiet and solemn. All that Botan had said had previously passed his mind. There was nothing he could say, nothing he could do that will alleviate the tense situation they all found themselves in. He only looked at her with his soft, emerald eyes, saying nothing, but letting his eyes and the emotion they exude console her worries. He felt a bit lighter when Botan smiled back at him.

The sliding door on the balcony slammed open, breaking the small, intimate moment between the two. Yusuke came in, loudly cursing and crying about not wanting to be nice again for a while. "Wake the old lady up; I'm back. I'm tired. Let's just wake that boy up and ask him who the hell he is and what his groupie wants!"

Botan and Kurama exchanged glances, laughed, and shrugged.

* * *

**A/N: I actually finished this quite a while back, but you know... as you read through it over and over again, it starts sounding like it's not good enough. So I took a break, and lo and behold, I actually enjoyed reading through it. Hope you did too. Nothing much happened-just teased the water a little bit between these two. Review to tell me what you think, please!**


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